Burying the Rust Belt label, once and for all | Column
Burying the Rust Belt label, once and for all | Column
Rick Platt, Guest ContributorSat, November 14, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC
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Rick Platt is President and CEO of the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority with over three decades of experience in Ohio industrial development. He is a board member of JobsOhio.
Relief. The election is over.
Ohioans got a taste of what things used to be like when Ohio was an election swing state. It’s fair to say that taste was over-the-top sour.
That sensation of being a swing state brought back some old vocabulary that should have stayed in the past.
One of the phrases brought back from near death was the term “Rust Belt.” National media types are particularly fond of that tired label.
“Rust Belt” is an economic shackle wrongly placed on our state.
It’s undeserved. Manufacturing is roaring back. Ohio’s economic output surpassed $1 trillion GDP this year. The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association reports more than $42 billion in capital investment commitments. Thus, Ohio’s economy has changed, but the terminology has not.
MediaCloud.org charted the national media use of the term. Their data shows a decline. The last huge spike was in 2016 during the presidential election, when Ohio was still considered a swing state.
Smaller spikes appeared again in the 2020 and 2024 presidential election years. The midterm elections were barely a blip. Until now?
Media Cloud unearthed the worst offenders in this year’s election cycle. Fortune, CNN and the New York Post were among the top 10 users of the term during this year’s election.
I expected to see Fox News. Host Jesse Watters would have made my list, as I cringe every time he uses the term. I texted his show one time. It didn’t work. He still uses it. A ton.
Now that the election’s over, it’s time to work on burying the term. Again.
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First Thought: Rust Belt term won’t die on its own
Back in 2017, when an upbeat report on the economic resurgence potential of the “New American Heartland” was unveiled at the Cleveland City Club, author Joel Kotkin said it best: "The future of the Heartland rests with the Heartland."
The industrial Heartland's combination of manufacturing prowess, energy and human capital is the right formula for the revival of middle America. It’s been working.
We Ohioans have a good story to tell. We need to tell it.
No rust here.
Another Thought: Ohioans get reacquainted with Sen. Brown
Sherrod Brown is back as Ohio’s U.S. senator. He’s one person who truly hates the Rust Belt term and has a track record to prove it.
"Ohio has buried the term 'Rust Belt.' It's time for our whole country to bury it." That’s Sen. Brown in 2022 as part of testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.
Known for his constituent work, here’s hoping he focuses on telling the upside story of his constituents to bury the term once more. This time for good.
Third Thought: Opportunity to change the narrative with Gov. Acton
The election elevated Amy Acton to governor, come Jan. 11, 2027. With her Mahoning Valley roots, one can predict her personal disdain for the term, too. Her family worked in those steel mills Bruce Springsteen sings about.
Here’s hoping she’ll bring an all-Ohio focus on industrial development and challenge the Rust Belt label with real outcomes. Ohio’s manufacturing success story needs to be a central part of the state’s identity.
Yes, the election is over, but the Rust Belt zombie has risen again.
Together, let’s bury it.
Rick Platt is President and CEO of the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority with over three decades of experience in Ohio industrial development. He is a board member of JobsOhio.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Burying the Rust Belt label, once and for all | Column
Source: “AOL Money”
